Managerial roles and functions | CHAPTER 1 | Leadership And Management

Managerial roles and functions – This book covers the entire syllabus of “Leadership & Management” prescribed by the BNMC for Diploma in Nursing Science & Midwifery Students.

We tried to accommodate latest information and topics. This book is examination friendly setup according to the teachers’ lectures and examination’s questions. At the end of the book previous university questions are given. We hope in touch with the pook students’ knowledge will be upgraded and flourished. The unique way of presentation may make your reading of the book a pleasurable experience.

Managerial roles and functions

Roles and Functions of a Nursing Manager

Management by Objective (MBO)

Definition of Management by Objective (MBO):

Management by Objectives (MBO) is a personnel management technique where managers and employees work together to set, record and monitor goals for a specific period of time.

Or

Management by objectives (MBO) is a management model that aims to improve performance of an organization by clearly defining objectives that are agreed to by both management and employees.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Management by Objective (MBO)

A. Advantages of Management by Objectives

• Since Management by objectives (MBO) is a result-oriented process and focuses on setting and controlling goals, if encourages managers to do detailed planning.
• Both the manager and the subordinates know what is expected of them and hence there is no role ambiguity or confusion.
• The managers are required to establish measurable targets and standards of performance and priorities for these targets. In addition, the responsibilities and authority of the personnel is clearly established.
• It makes individuals more aware of the company goals. Most often the subordinates are concerned with their own objectives and the environment surrounding them. But with MBO, the subordinates feel proud of being involved in the organizational gonir This improves their morale and commitment.
• Management by objectives (MBO) often highlights the area in which the need further training, leading to career development.
• The system of periodic evaluation lets the subordinates know how well they are doing. Since MBO puts strong emphasis on quantifiable objectives, the measurement and appraisal can be more objective, specific and equitable.
• It improves communication between management and subordinates.

B. Disadvantages of Management by Objectives

• The philosophy of M.B.O. should be well understood by managers. If the persons who are to operate management by objectives do not fully understand the philosophy of M.B.O., it is no wonder that M.B.O. fails.
• If the goals are to be attainable, they should be realistic. If the goals are vague uncertain and unambiguous managers may not be in a position to carry out their work successfully.
• Setting up of verifiable goals is not an easy task. It involves lot of time, study, effort and work.
• M.B.O. lay emphasis on short-term goals and neglects the long range goals. But adequate attention towards both the goals should be given.
• Effective interactions between the superiors and subordinates may not be possible due to differences in their status

Features of Management by Objectives

• In the light of the above definitions of MBO, the following features of it can be identified;
• It is a technique and philosophy of management.
• Objective setting and performance review are made by the participation of the concerned managers.
• Objectives are established for all levels of the organization.
• It is directed towards the effective and efficient accomplishment of organizational objectives.
• It is concerned with converting an organizational objective into a personal objective on the presumption that establishing personal objectives makes an employee committed which leads to better performance.
• The basic emphasis of MBO is on objectives. Management by Objectives tries to match objectives with resources.
• Objectives in MBO provide guidelines for appropriate systems and procedures.
  Periodic review of performance is an important feature of MBO.
• MBO provides the means for integrating the organization with its environment, its subsystems, and people.
• Employees are provided with feedback on actual performance as compared to planned performance.

Common Elements of a Management by Objectives Program

The essence of MBO is participative goal setting, choosing a course of actions and decision- making process. An important part of the MBO is the measurement and comparison of the employee’s actual performance with the standards set.

Management by Objective defined as a management system in which specific performance goal are jointly determined by employees and their managers, progress toward accomplishing those goals is periodically reviewed and rewards are allocated on the basis of this progress.

4 Common Ingredients of an MBO Program are;

1. Goal specificity,
2. Participative decision making,
3. An explicit time period, and
4. Performance feedback.

Let’s briefly look at each of these.

Goal Specificity

The objectives in MBO should be concise statements of expected accomplishments. It is not adequate, for example merely to slate a desire to cut costs, improve service or increase quality.

Such desires need to be converted into tangible objectives that can be measured and evaluated for instance to cut departmental costs by 8 percent to improve service by ensuring that all insurance claims processed within 72 hours of receipt, or to increase quality by keeping returns to less than 0.05 percent of sales.

Participative Decision Making

In MBO, the objectives are not unilaterally set by the boss and assigned to employees, as is characteristic of traditional objective setting.

Rather, MBO replaces these imposed goals with participative determined goals. The manager and employee jointly choose the goals and agree on how they will be achieved.

An Explicit Time Period

Each objective also has a concise time period in which it is to be completed. Typically the time period is three months, six months, or a year.

Performance Feedback

The final ingredients in an MBO program are continuous feedback on performance and goals that allow individuals to monitor and correct their own actions.

This continuous feedback is supplemented by periodic formal appraisal meetings in which superiors and subordinates can review progress toward goals, which lead to further feedback.

Importance of Management by Objectives

• It facilitates the employees to understand their tasks and duties in a better way.
• It is helpful in designing Key Result Area (KRA) for each employee, according to their interest, specialization, experience and competency.
• It eliminates overlapping and confusions in the tasks and duties.
• Every employee contributes towards the achievement the objectives by successfully completing the tasks and duties assigned to them by the superior.
• It creates an open communication environment in the organization.

Peter Drucker has developed five steps to put management by objectives into practice:

Step 1: Determine or revise the organizational objectives

Strategic organizational objectives are the starting points of management by objectives. These objectives stem from the mission and vision of an organization. If an organization has not formulated these yet, it does not make sense to carry out the next steps.

Step 2: Translating the organizational objectives to employees

In order to make organizational objectives organization-wide, it is important that these are translated to employee level. For efficiency reasons, Peter Drucker used the acronym SMART (Specific, Measurable, Acceptable, Realistic and Time-bound). The element “Acceptable” is crucial in management by objectives as this is about agreement on the objectives between the employees and the organization.

Step 3: Stimulate the participation of employees in the determining of the objectives

The starting point is to have each employee participate in the determining of personal objectives that are in line with the objectives of the organization. This works best when the objectives of the organization are discussed and shared throughout all levels of the organization so that everyone will understand why certain things are expected of them. In this way, everyone can make their own translation of what their contribution can be to the objectives.

Step 4: Monitoring of progress

Because the goals and1 objectives are SMART, they are measurable. If they cannot be measured, a system will have to be set up in which a monitoring function is activated when the objectives are deviated from. Detection must be timely so that large problems can be prevented. On the other hand, it is important that the agreed objectives do not cause abnormal behaviour of employees for example.

Step 5: Evaluate and reward achievements

Management by objectives has been designed to improve performance at all levels within an organization. A comprehensive evaluation system is therefore essential. As goals and objectives have been SMART formulated, they make the evaluation of processes very easy.

Employees are evaluated and rewarded for their achievements in relation to the set goals and objectives. This also includes accurate feedback. Management by objectives is about why, when and how objectives can be achieved.

See More:

• Leadership And Management | Diploma in Nursing Science and Midwifery